Akame ga Kill: The Hunter's Path
by Galm1Cipher
Summary: Tatsumi had once hoped to save his village by travelling abroad with his childhood friend's, becoming strong monster hunters in the process. However, upon his return, seeing that his village is doing worse than ever, his eyes are set on becoming a military officer, as an attempt to change things from the inside. Little does he know about the monsters that lie in the Capital.
1. Prologue : Kill The Memory

**Prologue**

**(The Great Ocean, Near the Northern coastline of the Empire)**

"Man, this is the first time we've seen land in weeks!" Tatsumi exclaimed as he noticed the faint brown landscape slowly come in to view on the horizon.

"We've nearly arrived indeed…" the Argosy Captain agreed. "Won't be long now."

The sun was just beginning to rise in the East, which gave a stunning backdrop to their long-awaited destination.

After admiring the view for a moment, Tatsumi decided it was time to wake up his travelling partner and childhood friend, Ieyasu, to give him the good news. He went below decks on the great vessel they had been using for their trans-continental journey for the past 3 weeks to find his friend, who was still fast asleep on the bunk beds they'd be sharing. As he approached the doorway to the room, he shouted in:

"Hey! Ieyasu! Time to get up man."

He could hear the half-asleep moan his friend gave him indicating he had no real intention of jumping out of bed. This prompted Tatsumi to go a step further, as he usual had to most mornings. He went beside the bottom bunk where his friend was laying and shook his leg and repeated: "Hey! It's time to wake up! Looks like we're almost there."

"Huh…." Ieyasu mumbled, still very much drowsy. "We're almost where...? Home?" he questioned.

"Seems like it." Tatsumi responded.

"Alrighty, I'll get up." Ieyasu swung his legs around and came to a sitting position in the bunk. "Crazy to think it's been nearly 3 weeks eh?" Ieyasu let out a small sigh.

"Yeah, even though I'm grateful for the Captain taking us all this way, could really do with some dry land." Tatsumi responded with a bit of a chuckle. "I'll meet you top-side." Tatsumi told his friend, to which he responded with a nod and a wave of his hand. As Tatsumi made his way back to the deck of the ship, he started to reminisce on the travels the pair had made.

"_Damn, after all this time. We're finally going home. Seems like its been so long…"_

"_Well no shit dumbass, it HAS been 6 years. Wonder if they still remember us. What a thought…" _He chuckled to himself as he scratched the back of his head, before making his way up the straight staircase to the deck of the ship once again.

"Will your friend be joining us finally?" the Argosy Captain asked Tatsumi with a cheeky smile.

"Let's hope!" Tatsumi responded, pinching the bridge of his nose a little, before responding with his own smile. Just as the two finished their exchange, almost on que, Ieyasu appeared at the top of the staircase, still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Yeah I know, I'm up okay." Ieyasu retorted, clearly catching part of Tatsumi's and the Captain's exchange.

"Wow, that's quite the sunrise… Can hardly make out the Empire on the horizon." Ieyasu murmured. "I bet Sayo would've loved this view…" as a blank expression came across Ieyasu's face. Tatsumi winced seeing the expression his friend was making, and he too remembered their best friend.

"_He's right, she definitely would have. Man, it feels so strange without her here."_

"Yeah… without a doubt." Tatsumi replied to his friend, which was barely louder than a whisper. He was able to conceal his emotions slightly better than Ieyasu, or so he thought, until a single tear made its way down Tatsumi's right cheek. Looking towards their approaching destination, Tatsumi clutched the talisman he wore around his neck, remembering what felt like moments ago.

**(Flashback, 6 years ago)**

Tatsumi could only sit and listen as he heard his parents quarrel in the room over. He could only pick up certain things here and there, but a certain monologue that he was able to interpret made him shake in fear of the unknown.

"… this place is going to hell! There is no way he can have a promising future here. Between the recent tax hikes and the poor harvests we've been having… even Ieyasu and Sayo's family both agree. This is no place for children to grow up, they've got too much to look forward to! The opportunities here are dying off like the fucking landscape around us …. Look, my father knows his way around the Western continent, he's got plenty of connections. He can make sure they learn the valuable skills they are going to need to survive in the Empire…

Tatsumi was struggling to listen to the words of his father as he paused to catch his breath.

"Fact is, most of our skilled tradesman and their families have all left for the Capital, there's barely anyone left here to teach them, and with us running the village and trying to take care of the sick, we've got no time, without us, this place will fall apart and cease to…" Tatsumi's father was clearly pleading to his mother, who, from what he could tell, was just listening to his words in silence, either in denial, or in awe, but likely both.

It was no secret that the village had been suffering, especially lately. However, Tatsumi didn't realize it had gotten this bad. His parents often shielded him from some of the harsher realities that came with living so far from the Capital, but certainly not out of its reach.

"We'll never be able to give them the life experience that exploring the Western continent would give them and think- "he trailed off. Clearly trying to pick his words carefully. "And think, one day, they will return, it won't be forever, but enough time for them to learn invaluable knowledge, skills, and how to _survive_!" Tatsumi's father was rambling at this point, clearly desperate.

After what seemed like multiple moments of silence,

"Okay." Tatsumi's mother replied with, in nothing short of a whisper.

"Thank you… if there was any other alternative, where they could all stay here, trust me, I'd find it… But them spending their most impressionable years abroad in a whole new world, with its own set of dangers of course, but, with the proper resources to be able to support them, is an opportunity we need to give to them, one they won't find here, at least not right now."

"I know…" Tatsumi's mother murmured in response, "I know you're doing your best, but I doesn't change the fact that it all just hurts so much… I wish we could do more here!" she choked out as she began to sob.

Tatsumi could do nothing but sit in silence as he stared at the floor in front of him, clenching his fists, not being able to fully understand the implications of the words he just overheard.

He was interrupted from his own thoughts by the calling of his name.

"Tatsumi." His parents called out as they opened the door to the living area, where he was sitting. "We need to talk to you about something." They both sat down in front of Tatsumi and attempted to conceal their emotions as best as they could.

"Listen here Tatsumi. I have something I need you to do for us, okay? Hear us out." Tatsumi only nodded in response.

"You, Ieyasu and Sayo are going to go an adventure with grandpa." Trying to sound as cheery as possible. "Grandpa's been all over the Western continent, as you know from all his stories. And your mother and I think it would be an amazing opportunity for you all to learn some amazing things, meet some amazing people, and experience a whole new world!" Sounding enthusiastic. "We would come with in a heartbeat- " Tatsumi's father stopped himself, trying to remain composed.

"But you know how much everyone here relies on us, without their chief, frankly… they won't make it." his father trailed off.

"Times have been tough on this village Tatsumi, and although it made be hard for you understand, growing up abroad will give you, Ieyasu and Sayo all the best chance at succeeding at making a promising foundation for yourselves, and the village."

"But as your father said, making sure you have a home to come back to once you've finished learning all you can, is our responsibility." Tatsumi's mother picked up where her husband finished.

"I think I get it…" Tatsumi responded softly. After a long pause, he added, "But I still wish-"

"-I just wish I could stay here!" As a few tears welled up in his eyelids and finally started to drop on to the floor.

Tatsumi's parents immediately embraced him, trying to comfort their son through which was undoubtedly the hardest decision they've ever had to make, and the hardest thing their son had ever had to hear.

"You won't be alone out there Tatsumi, we'll both be with you every step of the way, right here." As Tatsumi's mother gestured to his chest, directly at his heart. Tatsumi continued to sob lightly as his parents continued to console him.

After a few moments passed, Tatsumi's father stood up and spoke:

"And you will all be looking out for one another, you have to promise US that, and to each other most importantly." He declared.

Tatsumi, who was finally feeling a bit better, stood up, and responded with confidence:

"You have my word!" he announced with the best smile he could muster, with his armed aimed high with a clenched fist.

Tatsumi's parents were a shocked a bit at first at the resolve their son was expressing, but after a few seconds, could only respond with a warm smile.

"Then it's a promise. And remember Tatsumi, this isn't forever. One day, all three of you shall return, heroes of this village! We're already so, so proud of you. More than you know…" Tatsumi's father responded to his son with his own affirmation.

"_I know you can all do it. You have the hopes and dreams of the entire village riding on you three. Before you know it, we'll be welcoming you back…"_

**(2 weeks later, Village docks)**

Although the sun had barely risen, the activity surrounding the village docks was as bustling as the Capital's markets at midday. Tatsumi, Ieyasu, and Sayo were all standing on the docks admiring the impressive Argosy vessel that was docked before them.

"Wow… it's huge!" Ieyasu exclaimed.

"Little too big for your brain to handle?" Sayo responded with a snicker, smirking at her friend.

"Hey! You know that's not what I meant!"

The sounds of his best friends bickering like usual almost made Tatsumi miss the fact his parents, along with Ieyasu's and Sayo's were approaching them. Upon seeing them, Tatsumi immediately ran to them and embraced them both.

"Have you got everything?" Tatsumi's mother asked softly.

"Of course!" he announced in response.

"Excellent. Of course, with you triple checking all his things, its no wonder…" Tatsumi's father scoffed, which earned up sharp jab in the ribs, to which he responded with a wince and a slight chuckle. It was at this time when Tatsumi's grandfather and the Argosy Captain approached from the village center.

"Well youngsters, your gramps here has filled me on the details. Looks like you're all in for some adventure. Yes?" The Argosy Captain asked. The three of them of all nodded in response.

The Argosy Captain was a tall, impressive man who wore faded indigo pants, with a blue and white kimono. It was also hard to miss the impressive long sword sheathed across his back as well, known as the _**Barbarian Blade**_. He was a charming businessman who travelled the world in search of riches and other rarities. He frequently visited the village where Tatsumi grew up, which is how he got to know to Tatsumi's grandfather. Of course, the two of them go way back, much before Tatsumi was even a thought. This relationship that been forged over the years is why the parents of the three young people could trust Tatsumi's grandfather and the Captain so much.

Tatsumi's grandfather made his way over to his son, Tatsumi's father. And shook his hand.

"Thank you, Dad, you're the only one that I could ask do this. I hate to ask any- " Tatsumi's father was cut off with a hand wave of his father.

"This, I would do again a thousand times. I would be happy to show these young individuals the wonders of the world in hopes that one day they return and outwit us all!" he said with a laugh. Tatsumi's parents responded with a smile. He then turned to Ieyasu's and Sayo's parents, to whom he simply nodded with a smile, and then made his way over to the boarding area.

Tatsumi, Ieyasu and Sayo glanced at each other momentarily, and then gathered their things hurriedly. With a final look at their parents, the three of them followed Tatsumi's grandfather up to where they would board. It was then the trio heard a shout from Tatsumi's father:

"Remember! Look out for each other! Stay safe, and we shall see you all soon! We are all very proud of you!"

Seeing the warm smiles on the faces of their respective parents was the last little boost of confidence the trio needed to hop on to the deck of the massive vessel. With a snap, the Argosy Captain had signalled his crew to untie the last of the docking ropes and to set sail.

As the ship began to creep forward with its sails unfolding, the trio were leaning over the railing waving at their parents, who were returning the gesture in kind.

After a moment however, the morning fog quickly began to obscure their view of the coast, until it was gone entirely.

"_I'm gonna do it. We ALL are. We're gonna make the whole village proud of us. We'll come back knowing things they've never even heard of!" _Tatsumi shouted internally.

The three made their way up to the bow of the ship, where the Captain was standing. The Captain turned to face them all, witch a small smirk on his face.

"Are you all ready?!" he exclaimed.

The trio responded in unison: "Yes!"

"_I guess it's a little late for that. But if what their gramps has said is any indicator, they've all got outstanding potential. I'll have to see for myself, but I got faith." _The Captain thought.

With a nod to the enthusiasm of the youngsters, the Captain declared: "De wa! The sea breeze beckons!"

**(1 month later, Port Town of Val Habar)**

"So, you want us to show the ropes to these youngsters eh?"

A medium height, well-built man who donned a red flat cap hat, paired with a short sleeve red leather top and dark grey pants was conversing with Tatsumi's grandfather a few steps away.

"_What kinda outfit is that?" _Tatsumi wondered. _"Looks like he's in the circus or something…" _

Seemingly reading Tatsumi's mind, Ieyasu thought out loud: "Wow, what kinda weird get-up is that? He gonna show us a magic trick?" as he let out a chuckle.

"And he could definitely kick your butt in the middle of it!" Sayo jeered in return.

"You wouldn't be able to fight him off either! What the heck do you know?" he retorted, a tick mark appearing near simultaneously on each of their foreheads as they butted heads.

"C'mon guys! At least try and get along and take some of this place in!" Tatsumi interjected into their little argument.

With their friend coming in as the voice of reason, the two snapped out of their own little world and just looked away from each other, Sayo wearing a pouty expression.

"We have to make the most of this alright, so just try and hold it together. Please?" as he gently placed his hands on his friends shoulders respectively.

"Fine…" Sayo and Ieyasu responded one after another.

It was then the trio really started to look around and take in the sights around them.

Val Habar was considered a hub to all sorts of travellers, merchants and **hunters**. It neighboured what was known as the Great Desert, which the infamous Elder Dragon **Dah'ren Mohran** called home. The town had a large fleet of sand ships, and a large hunting gong to counter such a beast. These details were unbeknownst to the trio at the time, but they would later come to know them very well.

Their admiration of the town would have to wait, as the man in red approached the three with Tatsumi's grandfather next to him.

"So, the gramps here tells me ya'll want to be hunters?" the man announced.

The trio glanced at each other with confused looks, then finally turning disjointed expressions towards to the man who had just addressed them.

"Tatsumi, Sayo, Ieyasu, this man here is the Caravaneer. He commands a _caravan_ who travel the world, much like the Argosy, in search of rarities and treasures. As a group, they all posses a variety of knowledge and skill sets." Tatsumi's grandfather explained. After a short pause, he continued:

"One of the main appeals of the Western Continent as whole is its monster hunting, for several reasons. The biggest ones for you three will be to learn invaluable survival skills in the wilderness and how to protect yourself from dangerous beasts and monsters alike." Tatsumi's grandfather finished with.

"I'd go ahead and show you the basics of hunting myself-" as he gestured to himself "-but I am little, shall we say, past my prime."

Tatsumi held back a chuckle.

"Gramps here has told me a little about your situation, and it sound like you all are in some need of some invigorating life experience!" the Caravaneer announced with a hearty grin.

"So, you three, this will be your first step in becoming men and woman your parents would be very proud of. Everyone must start somewhere, and for you all, I believe this your best chance. It wasn't SO long ago that I was in your shoes doing the same thing." Tatsumi's Grandfather added.

The three stood in shock, trying to soak in what they'd all just been told.

"So, when do we start?" Tatsumi asked, after re-composing himself. Ieyasu and Sayo shot him quick glances that clearly showed their hesitance:

"_Hey idiot! What do you think you're doing?"_

"HA! I like your enthusiasm kid. I got a real respect for your gramps here. He tells me you all have some real promise at becoming formidable hunters, and strong, confident individuals. You may not look like much right now, but we'll all whip you in to shape in no time." He responded to the group with a smile.

"Just remember one thing for me okay gang?"

"What's that?" Tatsumi asked in return.

"We'll teach you plenty of things here, show you sights you've never been able to dream of, and give you the skills you need to make it." He paused.

"So, remember, if a task comes up and you three are called upon, remember that we'll only ask if we think you're ready."

The group seemed to have a renewed confidence present in their eyes.

"All right! We got this guys! If this is what it takes to help our village and ourselves, we can do anything!" Tatsumi cheered in response to the Caravaneers words of encouragement.

"Excellent. Most excellent" The Caravanner nodded.

"You're the one to get it done."

And with a tip of his red cap, the Caravaneer gestured the group to follow him down what appeared to them as the main road in Val Habar.

Little did the three know at the time, the things they learned from the group lead by an over-eccentric Caravaneer and his compatriots would be the experiences they'd hold on to for the rest of their lives.

**(3 years later; forest known as the Moga Woods, Western Continent)**

Ieyasu sneezed.

"Hey idiot! You want that thing to kill us?" Sayo said venomously to her childhood friend.

"Oh, would you relax? The thing is over a hundred feet away! Plus, this goddamn bush is the real problem." Ieyasu replied with a muffled hissed as he glanced over at their target while also hacking away at the bush he was concealed in.

"Shut it you two! It's looking this way!" Tatsumi responded in a low growl.

"_It's our first fucking large monster hunt, and here they are, at each others' throats." _

"We've got no choice now, lets come at from 3 sides while it's still confused as to where we are." Tatsumi told the group.

As they all nodded to each other, they all rushed into the clearing where the **Great Jaggi **was. The Great Jaggi was a bipedal bird wyvern who was the largest, meanest of the Jaggi, who confidently led the pack of lesser **Jaggi **and **Jaggia**. It also never failed to call upon backup in a fight from its lesser minions. As the three surrounded the beast from three sides, the beast let out a low hiss, before rearing up and hissing loudly at the group 3 times in succession, all whilst dragging its claws through the dirt below it and showing off its gruesome teeth.

"Now!" Tatsumi shouted.

Sayo drew her bow and started to unleash a hailstorm of iron tipped arrows at the beast. After taking a few deflecting shots of its tough hide, it managed to leap backwards from the hunters, creating some distance between itself and the group. After hissing once again it charged towards Sayo, the source of its most recent aggravation with a flurry of tail whips in her direction. Sayo managed to roll out of the way in time to avoid any contact. Sayo prepared another volley, however this time with arrows which oozed with purple poison at the tip.

"Try this on for size meathead!" She yelled as two of the arrows landed their mark in the beast's crest area.

The beast recoiled in pain from the initial impact, not knowing the lasting effects the poison would have on its movements.

"Now its my turn buddy!" Ieyasu responded in kind to his friends handywork. He charged up a powerful Hammer blow as he ran towards the head of the Great Jaggi. Before he could fully power up however, he brought the charged hammer to a parallel plane with the ground and swung horizontally, while using himself as a counterweight to the massive blunt object. After connecting with the beast's head three times in succession, he reeled up for a finishing uppercut blow which sent the beast flying 10 feet backwards.

Tatsumi stared in awe at this friend who had just unleashed a massive blow upon the Great Jaggi.

"That's the stuff!" He yelled back at his friend. Ieyasu responded with a quick flex of his biceps and a bright smile, to which he and Sayo could only sigh and roll their eyes in response.

However, in the admiration of their childish comrade, the Great Jaggi had managed to right itself, now visibly enraged. The grey and maroon coloured frill that surrounded the neck of the best vibrated in agitation as the beast hissed.

"Uh-oh-" Tatsumi gulped. "Now its _real _pissed."

"No shit!" Sayo retorted, still angry at the fact that they missed their opportunity to strike at the downed beast.

The Great Jaggi then reared its head upwards towards the sky making an audible calling sound to inform its minions it required assistance.

"I'll go for the small ones, you two keep at it." Sayo said calmly, drawing her bow as naturally as ever. Sayo had always been skilled with a bow, and even when coming to this whole new world, she kept at it, polishing her skills even further.

"You got it!" Tatsumi responded. His own weapon, known as the _**Charge Blade**_, appeared at first glance to be a simple sword and shield combo. However, the intricacies of this weapon if mastered properly, could unleash deadly force with single attacks AND combos. Tatsumi began to hack and slash at some of the Jaggi that appeared in the way between him and his goal. The Great Jaggi, still enraged at its previous assailant, charged towards Ieyasu before coming perpendicular to him, and then unleashed a fast and powerful hip-check, which Ieyasu was caught off-guard by, sending him flying meters backwards and knocking the wind of him.

"Agh-!"Ieyasu managed to cough out.

"Alright buddy, your fight is with me right now!" Tatsumi yelled at the beast as he threw at rock at its face. The beast turned towards him with steam being breathed out of its mouth all the while. Tatsumi charged at the beast, ready to block its inevitable 'chomp' in his direction. As he predicted, the Great Jaggi attempted lunge and bite in his direction, to which Tatsumi was able to counter with a shield charge to knock the beast to his left, before dodging in the direction opposite and unleashing a fury of slashes and chops to the Great Jaggi's right side.

The beast flinched in response to Tatsumi's savage blows to its hide. It managed to whip its tail in his direction however, forcing him to block the tough hide tail with his shield.

"_Damn, this thing is tougher than he thought." _Tatsumi thought to himself with a bead of sweat dripping down into his eye.

Ieyasu had managed to stand up at this point. Sayo had also seemingly finished most off the minor threats with her deadly aim. However, almost on queue, the Great Jaggi was ready to call out to his comrades again, pointing its head high in the air. Before he could call out however, Tatsumi had pulled the pin on a flash bomb, and threw it just in front of the face of the beast. It exploded with a flash, interrupting the Great Jaggi's call to arms.

"Now!" Tatsumi yelled at Ieyasu.

"You got it!" Ieyasu responded in kind with charging up a massive hammer blow. The stunned beast could do both but hazily watch as the massive blunt weapon impacted its skull with an audible "thud". Knocking the beast into a near unconscious state.

As the Great Jaggi stood still upright, with its head drooping towards the ground trying to regain its senses, a purple ooze began to drip from its mouth. Noticing the fruits of her labour, Sayo could only grin as she saw Tatsumi gear up for a massive attack.

Tatsumi had managed to block enough damage and land enough hits with the sword part of his weapon that the blade now emanated a red glow from the hilt.

"_It's time." _ He thought to himself.

He brought the shield which stretched from his upper torso down to his shins back and to his right side, before inserting the sword into the base of the shield. With a mechanical 'clang', he unsheathed the sword once again. However, the sword no longer exhibited the red glow from earlier. He sheathed the weapon again however, to close the distance between him and the Great Jaggi faster.

"_Guess I'm all charged up now, no time to waste."_

Tatsumi grinned, his eyes full of determination as he charged over towards the beast, who was still clearly stunned and dripping with toxins. He unsheathed his weapon once again, however this time, with a distinct metal on metal slide it transformed into an impressively sized double-edged axe. Immediately after unsheathing his weapon in this form, he chopped horizontally into the side of the beast, and with a grunt, he swung the axe around himself in a circle cutting deeply into the midsection of the Great Jaggi with each pass.

After the first rotation, Tatsumi converted the momentum of the weapon into an impressive stance, with the axe in a poised, ready to strike position just behind his back.

"AGGGHHHHHH!" with a mighty yell Tatsumi brought axe behind his head and back with a single arm and commenced a downwards chop, with his second hand meeting his first hand on the handle just at the axe blade crested his head. As the blade traversed its deadly trajectory, it crackled with elemental energy, resulting in a mighty chop as the blade reached its target. After a short second of the axe blade being well in to the Great Jaggi's neck, the elemental energy reached its climax and exploded with a loud and thunderous 'boom', causing a great deal of dust to be stirred up in the clearing the trio had found themselves in.

As the dust settled, the trio looked early to see their handy work, and to their hopeful expectations, the Great Jaggi lied dead on the clearing floor, with its head cleaved clean off.

After taking the victory in momentarily, Sayo could only look at Tatsumi in awe.

"_Wow… that was amazing. I've never seen a strike like that."_

Before she could get too lost in her thoughts, Ieyasu responded audibly to the success of his friend with an appropriate:

"Hell yeah Tatsumi! We kicked that things ass!" he exclaimed.

Tatsumi supressed the urge to smile out like an idiot before finally giving in and giving his comrades a huge thumbs up and a toothy smile.

"_I haven't seen that smile in a while it feels… comforting." _Sayo thought to herself, with a dusty blush forming on her cheeks.

"Well, we best report back to guild with this hunt! Plus, I'm sure the Caravaneer will wanna hear about this." Tatsumi declared.

"_Man, what a rush, our first large monster hunt…I wasn't sure really how'd that turn out, but damn, we killed it! We'll be unstoppable in no time." _Tatsumi grinned widely as he gathered his two friends with his arms around their shoulders as they made their way out of the clearing.

**(Flashback end)**

"_Our first large monster hunt was quite something back then… heh. Pretty feeble in comparison to what we could do as we got more experienced, but damn, we really pulled out all the stops in that hunt. We'd only been on minor quests for the guild at that point, gathering resources, hunting 'non-threatening' creatures, escorting civilians around. So, it was definitely a test to see how we'd all hold up as a team."_ Tatsumi paused his thoughts for a moment.

"_Man, Gramps was so proud of us when we got back, same with the Caravaneer! The guild finally started to take us seriously too at that point and let us take on more dangerous hunts."_

Tatsumi let out an exasperated sigh, and then rubbed his eyes clear of any tears that were still lingering.

"_She wouldn't want us to be showing up this weak and depressed looking, she'd kick our ass more than any damn monster ever could. Especially for our triumphant return..." _Tatsumi managed to giggle a little at the thought of the energetic young woman chasing after him punching and kicking.

As Tatsumi pulled himself out of his own thoughts, he noticed the docks to his village slowly become defined against the terrain in the distance.

"Well, we'll have a lot of stuff to catch them up on, won't we?" Ieyasu pointed out to Tatsumi.

He nodded to respond to his friend, as he could slowly make out some silhouettes on the dock.


	2. Prologue part 2

_**Thank you all for choosing to stop by! Some reviews and CC are always welcome, as this is my first attempt at a FF. This is the second and final part of the prologue. I would've grouped it together with the first chapter, but I was having some document size problems. Anyways, more than anything, I hope you enjoy. o7 **_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga Kill, Monster hunter, or either of their respective characters.**

"Speech"

"_Thoughts"_

**Locations, flashbacks**

_**Weapons, Teigu**_

As a large booming horn sounded to announce the arrival of the Argosy, Tatsumi and Ieyasu had gathered their remaining things and had returned to the deck of the ship.

"No time like the present…" Ieyasu muttered.

The pair made their way to the ramp which had recently been swung down on to the dock of the village. What awaited them were some familiar faces.

"Welcome home you two." Tatsumi's father announced with a small smile coming across his face.

Tatsumi could only walk over and embrace his father in a hug, before turning to his mother and doing the same.

"I'm home…" Tatsumi responded with a whisper.

**(10 minutes later, Village center)**

The Argosy crew could be seen busily unloading supplies and chatting with the locals, turning the usually desolate looking and quiet village into a hub of bustling activity. Ieyasu had finished catching up with his parents as well at this point, when Tatsumi's father had appeared before the pair.

"So how our things Dad?" Tatsumi asked, with Ieyasu eagerly awaiting a response as well.

"Well there's all sorts of things I'd like to be able to tell you honestly, but none of them would really be the truth." Tatsumi's Dad responded with a tired expression. "Honestly you two, things only seem to get worse day by day. Taxes have only gone up, foods getting to be scarce, and we don't have the money to import things from other villages." His father summed up what was a very apparent dire situation.

"Some fucking idiots down South clearly thinks things must as prosperous as ever, as they have no problem taking more and more of our damn money…" Tatsumi's father added with a sigh.

"Damn… those bastards just don't know when to stop do they?" Tatsumi responded to his father in an angry tone. "But hopefully this should help." Tatsumi plopped down an enormous sack full of money on the table in front on them. "This is my share from the guild."

"And mine too." Ieyasu added as he plopped down an equally large sack of money.

"I hope this will be able to help, at least for the time being, but clearly our work can't stop here." Tatsumi stated hopefully, but also with a small sigh.

Tatsumi had been getting periodic updates from his father and the village via letter, but with an entire ocean separating them, the messages were few and far between. The letters didn't really do justice to how poor things looked around here. And on top of that, his mother and father looked like they had aged 12 years in the span of 6, but he'd never tell them that to their faces.

"_There's really only one thing to do now, with fighting and hunting being what we're best at it… looks it really is the only thing to do. Ieyasu and I will have to enlist in the Empire's army. With our experience, we might even be able to make it as officers right off the bat, but I guess we'll see." _Tatsumi thought to himself.

Ieyasu and Tatsumi had already agreed this was their plan upon returning, since hunting certainly wasn't as big of a thing in the Empire as it was on the Western Continent. The hunting done here was done purely for survival.

"The entire village is so happy to have you returned to us…" Tatsumi's fathers words interrupted his thoughts. "But from what I could gather from your letters, you won't be staying long."

The idea of them enlisting had been forwarded to their parents not long after hearing of the situation back home being what it is.

"I hate to have to send you off so soon after you've returned… but you both look rather determined. That fire in your eyes, you really have both grown into incredible young men." Tatsumi's father stated.

"_There is one thing left we have to do before getting on our way though…" _Tatsumi thought, remembering Sayo.

Tatsumi felt in his pack for a third pouch he had been carrying. Once he had it in his hand, he answered his father with a sad look:

"There's one thing we have to do first though… ". He nodded to Ieyasu, who had already begun to walk towards to Sayo's home.

"I understand… just know that none of us here blame either of you for what happened… its not something you need to hold over yourself, you need to know that." Tatsumi's father answered his sons depressed look.

**(moments later, home of Sayo's family)**

After being let inside the home, Ieyasu and Sayo took a seat at the table, with Sayo's mother and father sitting across from them. Their sad expressions were all too real for the pair.

"I-I wish there was more we could do… but, I um-" Tatsumi was cut off with a hand wave from Sayo's father.

"Its okay Tatsumi, I know how much Sayo meant to both of you too. This has been a very tough past couple of months for the both of us as well…" Sayo's father trailed off as tears began to form in his eyes.

"She looked up to both of you too. She'd be… no she is proud of how strong you both have become. So please know, we don't blame you for what happened. In many ways, even though it was far too soon for her to go….." Sayo's father trailed off once again.

"She would be happy to have been by her two best friends' side in her final moments." Sayo's mother added with the best smile could muster, holding back tears herself.

At this point, Ieyasu and Tatsumi were both crying as well at the thought of their friend.

"_Damn, she'd calling us out SO hard right now for crying like babies… but maybe she'll make an exception for now…" _Tatsumi thought sadly.

After collecting themselves, Tatsumi placed the sack of money he'd be carrying around on the table.

"This was Sayo's share from the guild, and I think you both should have this. This was the fruits of her strong will and determination, and its only right that you have this."

"Thank you… thank you both. I think we'll probably put this towards the village though, Sayo would've wanted that." Sayo's mother replied with a small smile, her face still a blotchy red colour from her crying earlier.

"There's also this-" Tatsumi added while he unpacked a large Bowknown as the _**Voltsender**_. It was bow crafted from the monster known as the Lord of the Seas – the **Lagiacrus. **It was a fearsome monster for a fearsome weapon. "I think you should have this as well; this was Sayo's bow that she used when we hunted. She loved this thing more than anything… except maybe you two." Tatsumi said with a bit of a chuckle.

After staring at the bow for a little while on the table, Sayo's mother and father both looked at each other before looking back at the pair.

"I think you should hold on to this actually Tatsumi, Ieyasu." Sayo's mother paused a minute before continuing. "This was her hunting weapon, and those memories firmly lie with you both, not us. I think she'd want you to have this." She then proceeded to slowly move the bow back towards Tatsumi's side of the table.

"O-Okay…" Tatsumi managed to mutter in response. "I actually have a bit of a selfish request to make… if you'll hear me out."

"Of course, what is it?" Sayo's father asked.

It was at this point Tatsumi revealed a moderate sized urn he had been carrying with him.

Sayo's parents' eyes both opened wide before looking at Tatsumi in wonder.

"I'd like to take just a small part of her with us when we head for the Capital, so that we may spread her ashes wherever we end up. I think having her with us on our journey might make us feel a little better you know. Of course I'd totally understand if you sa-" Tatsumi was cut off by the sensation of Sayo's mother gripping his hand on the table.

"Of course." She answered Tatsumi's request. "I'd think she really like that…" she managed to smile briefly once again.

"T-Thank you." Ieyasu and Tatsumi responded in unison.

"We'll be sure to honor her memory in the best way we can." Tatsumi added with a renewed sense of determination, which reflected in the look in his eyes.

Seeing this, Sayo's parents were able to smile once again, knowing the legacy of their daughter would continue safely in the hands of the friends she held most dear.

**(Following morning, Village's southern path)**

"You guys really aren't wasting any time, are you?" The Argosy captain asked Tatsumi and Ieyasu.

"The sooner we can get enlisted and start sending money back, the sooner the village can go on existing comfortably and without worry." Tatsumi responded with fiery passion.

"Ho ho, you're quite fired up. Guess I was wrong to question you." The Captain responded with a laugh.

Tatsumi extended his hand towards the captain. The Captain responded in kind, shaking Tatsumi's hand.

"Thank you. Thank you for everything." Tatsumi told the Captain.

"Oh, you are most welcome young man. But really, you two weren't a burden. Maybe on your way across the first time, I thought you might get sick and dirty my ship." Tatsumi managed to giggle at the last part of his sentence. "But I see now I've gotten nothing to worry about."

As the Captain turned to leave, he added "If the seas allow it, maybe one day we'll meet again friends. I do hope such a day comes."

"You can count on it!" Tatsumi responded with a shout.

The Captain smiled and then waved as he made his way back to the docks, where his ship was waiting for him.

Tatsumi turned around to face the path once again, only to see that his and Ieyasu's parents were waiting for them.

"All set you two?" Tatsumi's father asked.

"You bet!" Ieyasu responded confidently.

Tatsumi nodded at his parents.

Seeing the confidence in their sons' respective eyes put the hearts of each parent as ease.

"Even though this journey may not have a return date scheduled like the last one… I do expect to hear from you both." Tatsumi's father demanded.

"Oh, don't worry, once we make it big, it'll be hard for you guys _not _to hear from us." Tatsumi replied with a toothy grin.

The parents could only respond with a laugh that further put them at ease.

"Well if you want to make good progress, you ought to get going." Tatsumi's father mentioned.

"Yeah, guess there really is no time like the present. Let's get to it Ieyasu." Tatsumi stated.

With _hup_, Ieyasu got to his feet from where he was sitting near the edge of the path.

"_It'll probably take us quite a few days to make it down there but staying out in the wilderness shouldn't be too big of a deal." _Tatsumi thought.

After one final embrace with their parents, Tatsumi and Ieyasu made their way towards the village's exit. With a loud horn sounding off the departure of the Argosy once again, the pairs journey towards the Capital had begun.

I hope you enjoyed the second part of the Prologue, next release will be the first Chapter of the official story, where we pick up where the Manga/anime begins. I hope you all enjoyed.

So, until next time, _o7_

_-Cipher_


	3. Chapter 1 - Kill the Journey

_**Thank you all for choosing to stop by! Some reviews and CC are always welcome, as this is my first attempt at a FF. This first chapter is a little longer than I anticipated, but I hope it doesn't drag on. Anyways, more than anything, I really do hope you enjoy. o7 **_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga Kill, Monster hunter, or either of their respective characters.**

"Speech"

"_Thoughts"_

**Locations, flashbacks**

_**Weapons, Teigu**_

"_Fuck me…" _ Tatsumi groaned to himself. _"My backs sore as hell… sleeping outside sucks even more than I remember." _Tatsumi had managed to sit up for where he had taken shelter for the night. He had been travelling for 3 days now on his journey to the Capital. However, yesterday, bandits had managed to separate him and Ieyasu, so Tatsumi was now fending for himself against the elements, and whatever else might be lurking around. Tatsumi managed to stretch out his aching muscles with a grunt and then go to his feet.

Tatsumi had decided to avoid taking the main path to the Capital, and instead linger within eyeshot to avoid any interruptions from bandits once again.

"_I hope your alright buddy. I dunno what I'd do without you… but knowing you, your probably already hitting up some girls at a tavern. I'll see you soon."_

Tatsumi had his thoughts paused for a moment from a shout that echoed from the nearby path.

"What's this blue fucker getting in our way for?" the man explained.

"Hell if I know, but it looks hungry…" the other man gulped.

"_Heh, looks like I'll be able to get in some hunting on the way into the Capital and show off my skills!"_ Tatsumi excitedly thought to himself.

Tatsumi had made his way to the edge of the path and saw a carriage with two men at its realms, with a large blue raptor looking monster confronting them.

"A **Velocidrome **huh? Not even a threat really, but I better help these guys out." Tatsumi thought out loud, with a grin appearing on his face.

It was then that Tatsumi leapt on to the path and unsheathed his weapon, a _**Charge Blade **_known as _**Lightbreak**_. Before the Velocidrome had noticed him, Tatsumi had reeled up for a powerful upwards slash on the beast's chest, before complimenting his attack with a slightly weaker downwards cut. The Velocidrome hissed in pain and had turned to face him.

The Velocidrome had immediately reared up and starting to breathe steam from its fang-filled mouth.

"I'm your opponent today!" Tatsumi yelled out at the beast.

The beast responded with a quick hip-check towards Tatsumi. Tatsumi instinctively jumped up and out of the way of the Velocidrome's attack, timing it perfectly so that he'd land on top of the beast's back, mounting it.

"_Won't even need a full charge for this one."_

It was then that Tatsumi's weapon began to transform into its axe form. After slashing horizontally in to the Velocidrome's neck with a crackle of elemental energy, he whipped the weapon around himself, slicing deeper and deeper into the flesh of the enraged monster. Even with its best efforts to shake Tatsumi off it, the Velocidrome could not manage to rid itself from its newfound rider. With a final sizzle of elemental energy, Tatsumi brought the might of the axe down onto the skull of the blue and black striped bird wyvern with an audible impact. After what seemed like a millisecond, the elemental energy erupted from the blade of his axe with an explosion.

After the dust had settled, Tatsumi had already sheathed his weapon back on to his back, which was concealed by the cloak he has wearing. Lying at his feet, was the lifeless body of the Velocidrome which had had its head imploded.

"All right! That guy shouldn't be bothering you anymore!" Tatsumi exclaimed to the two carriage-goers who were still sitting there in shock at what they had just witnessed.

"Holy shit kid, that was amazing! That's some weapon you got there too… I've never seen anything like it." The first man that was manning the reigns of their carriage walked up to Tatsumi.

"Well guys like these really aren't a threat to me…" Tatsumi replied as he kicked the corpse of the slain Velocidrome. "Plus, if I'm gonna make it big here stuff like this can't even make me sweat."

"I take it you're trying to make it big in the Capital eh?" The second man inquired with a raised eyebrow as he made his way over to Tatsumi as well.

"You said it!" Tatsumi couldn't hide the huge grin on his face anymore. "I'm gonna make it big here in the Capital, get a huge rep, and then send money back to my village! You know, they've been really down on their luck lately with the rising ta-" Tatsumi was cut off by the first man.

"You see kid… the Capital really isn't all its cracked up to be. Sure, it's the busiest place on the continent… but they got worse monsters than raptor over there." The man told Tatsumi with a grim and serious tone.

"What… so they actually let monsters like this guy inside the city? Sounds like they need my help more than ev-" Tatsumi was interrupted again, this time by the second man.

"We're talking about the people." The man tried emphasizing the point his comrade was trying to make. "People with the _hearts _of monsters is all you'll find where your headed…" he trailed off.

Tatsumi was having difficulty understanding what he had just heard. What seem to bother him the most however, was the grim but genuine tone the two men had.

"Well, I do appreciate your warning… but I really can't turn around now. I've got people depending on me. I better get going." With a final wave, Tatsumi continued down the path, this time walking right down the center.

"Such a shame, kid should've just stayed where he came from." The first man said as he pinched the bridge of his nose before letting out a sigh.

"I give him three days before his killed, one way or another…" the second man added.

"He's got some serious skill, and that weapon too, I've never seen anything like it…" the first man trailed off before re-mounting the carriage.

"We gotta get going though, Lubbock is gonna need these supplies sooner, rather than later."

**(An hour later, Capital's Northern gate)**

"Now _this_, is quite something!" Tatsumi exclaimed as he admired the vast city that lay before him. His eyes filled with wonder as he took in the bustling city streets.

"_The Capital huh? If I can make it here, I think I'll be really be able to help out back home…" _Tatsumi thought as he started to make his was through the Capital's streets. _"First order of business though, time to find a military outpost of some kind."_

After getting some directions from the locals, Tatsumi managed to find a barracks not far from him. He walked into the building and noticed a large counter with a lone man sitting at it. There were various other soldiers seemingly busy with tasks behind the counter. As Tatsumi approached the counter, he noticed the officer was intently writing down something with a sign that read _'Closed, be back soon'_.

"Um, e-excuse me sir. I was hop-" Tatsumi is cut off abruptly by the voice of the officer sitting down in front of him.

"Can you read kid?" the officer asked with an annoyed tone.

"Yessir." Tatsumi replied firmly.

"Then put that big brain of yours to work." The officer demanded as he picked up the closed sign and slammed it on the counter in front him.

"_Geez, not much of a personality with this guy eh? Eh, I shouldn't worry too much, before long, they'll be wishing they asked ME to join up." _Tatsumi mused to himself with a smirk before retiring to a table nearby.

After what seemed like at least an hour to Tatsumi, he noticed the officer at the counter calmly pick up the closed sign and place it under the counter while simultaneously handing off whatever he'd writing on to a soldier behind him.

"Next." The officer muttered.

Standing up immediately, Tatsumi rushed to the counter.

"Looking to join up?" the officer asks just as annoyed as when he first met Tatsumi.

"Yessir. I'd like to enlist as an off-" Tatsumi is cut-off again as the officer shoves a form into his face.

"Fill this out and bring it back to me." Replied the officer, seemingly ignoring the second part of Tatsumi's response.

"B-but this is for grunts…?" Tatsumi thought out loud. "Look, I don't have time for this. Look I'll show you what I can do, then you'll be asking ME to be YOUR Cap-" Tatsumi is interrupted yet again as he was about to unsheathe his _**Charge Blade **_from his back. This time, the officer was looking at Tatsumi with indignation.

"No, you look here you fucking brat. There's a lottery that everyone must enter before they are even _considered _to be a solider! Let alone a goddamn officer!" the officers tone made Tatsumi gulp a little bit.

"But please sir, I'm telling you it'll be worth your t-" Tatsumi starts to say before the officer pipes in again.

"Everybody and their dog have been applying to the ranks ever since the economy took a shit. There's only a certain amount of people we can accept. And we've met our quota for this month." The officer had made his way around the counter at this point, as was standing directly in front him now.

"O-oh… I guess that makes sense…" Tatsumi murmured in response to the news he had just heard.

"Now if we're done here, get the fuck out of my sight!" The officer yelled, shoving Tatsumi out the door he had came in, slamming the door behind me.

"_Off to a great start…" _

As Tatsumi let out an exhausted sigh, he made his way back down to road.

"_Bet if I cause a scene right now I'd start to get known pretty quick… but then I might get arrested, and I can't be fucking about with that either…I wonder if Ieyasu made it into the Capital yet, hope he didn't run in to the same trouble I did." _Tatsumi thought as he started to think about what to do next. However, before he could come up with anything meaningful, he's interrupted by a tap on the shoulder.

"Hey there~" a stifling sexual voice calls out to him from behind his shoulder. Tatsumi turned around to address the mischievous voice and is greeted by a _very _attractive blonde woman. The first thing he notices however is the woman's enormous breasts, who were barely contained by a small black tube top. As if the bosom of the woman had their own gravity, Tatsumi's eyes were drawn to them for what felt likes minutes, before the woman chimed in again.

"You look troubled boy; you need a Big sis to lend you a hand?" the blond asked with a smirk.

Without receiving a response from the stunned Tatsumi, she continued:

"Let me guess, drawn into the Capital with dreams of making it big, so you came all the way here from

the boonies?"

"H-how did you…?" Tatsumi managed to stammer out.

"Of course I knew! You spend enough time around here; the outsiders really start to stand out to you." She replied with a smirk spread wide across her face. "Say, I saw you wander of the barracks back there pretty bummed out… they turn you down?"

"Yeah…"

"I might be able to help with that." She responds.

Tatsumi's eyes light up and his face perks up immediately.

"You know of another way?!" he practically exclaims out.

"Mhmm… wanna know how?"

He nods vigorously.

"Then you better treat a pretty lady to lunch~" she flashed Tatsumi a smile that made his heart to beat quickly in his chest.

**(Minutes later, Pub down the road)**

"Whewwww!" the blond cheered out as she slammed an empty mug of ale down on the table. "Day drinking really is the best~" she continued as a red blush covered her cheeks.

Tatsumi glanced at the clock on the wall, and noticed it was barely past noon. He then glanced back at the multiple bottles of _empty _alcohol that lied scattered across the table before pinching the bridge of his nose and letting out a large sigh.

"Oh, c'mon kid, drink up!" as she poured two glasses full of alcohol and leaned over the table to give one of them to Tatsumi, exposing her generous cleavage. "Let's have a little fun!"

Tatsumi was struggling to contain his bright red blush as glanced away momentarily.

"L-listen lady, I really need to know how you can help me get into the army." Tatsumi managed to get out.

"Oh right, that." The blond said. Swirling the ice in her cup she continued: "Well it's quite simple really, you need money and connections."

"Money?" Tatsumi repeated after the woman, raising an eyebrow.

"I've got an officer buddy in the army you see…" the blond explained. "You wet his palette with a bit of cash, you'll be in in no time."

"I see…" Tatsumi started to ruffle through his bag and found what he was looking for. He then plopped down a large sack of money on the table. The blonde's eyes widened to about twice their normal size. "Do you think this is enough?" he questioned the blonde.

"Oh, most certainly." She responded, still eyeing up the money. "You've got a lot of money on you."

"Yeah, I've collected quite a bit from hunting monsters you see?" Tatsumi explained

"You must be pretty strong then." The blonde said as she grabbed Tatsumi's money from the table. "With this kinda cash you'll be an officer in no time."

"That's amazing! Thank you!" Tatsumi cheered with a huge smile.

As the blonde made her way over to exit, with a sensual sway to her hips. She looked back over her shoulder and said: "I think you'll learn a great deal from our little meeting kid. I'm gonna go meet up with my friend now. Bye for now~" she winked at him before disappearing behind the door.

"A-Alright." Tatsumi managed to stammer out, still taken by the beauty of the blonde as he waved her off.

"_So, connections are important here… not totally a surprise I guess." _Tatsumi happily thought to himself. He didn't catch however, the bartender looking on as he shook his head.

"_Shame, that kid was pretty good looking… but he won't last another day acting like that. Hopefully he learns…" _the blonde thought as strolled out into the street once again with Tatsumi's money slung over his shoulder.

**(8 hours later)**

Dinner had come and passed around Tatsumi as he started to look warily at the clock.

"Hey kid, we're gonna be shutting it down for the night real soon." The bartender said as he wiped down the last few empty tables.

"Oh that's okay, I'm actually waiting for someone." He explains to the bartender.

"Yeah, I saw that… hate to be the one to tell you this kid, but that woman isn't coming back here."

"What?!" Tatsumi yelled, practically jumping out of his seat.

The bartender shrugged, and then simply stated: "Honestly can't believe someone would be so trusting in the imperial capital these days, blows my mind."

"A fraud?" Tatsumi began to realize as he gathered up his things. "I'll report her to the police then!" Tatsumi determined.

"No use kid… plus its your fault for falling for it in the first place." The bartender retorted, which stopped Tatsumi in his tracks just as he was about to walk out the door.

"_For fucks sake!" _Tatsumi angrily thought to himself as poorly tried to conceal his emotions. He stormed back to the bar and put what little remaining money he had on the counter before turning around and storming outside this time. _"After paying for the meal, I've got literally NOTHING left…" _Tatsumi thought as he stomped down the road.

"That fucking big breasted… I mean that woman!" Tatsumi yelled out which fell on deaf ears.

"_No-one I know from back home or the Western Continent would ever do that to me… what the hell's wrong with this place…" _

Tatsumi settled down next to a tree on the main road before muttering to himself: "Guess I'm sleeping outside again tonight… " Tatsumi barely noticed the carriage that had stopped on the road in front of him, before a young blonde woman got out and started to walk towards him.

"Do you have a place to stay tonight?" the young woman asked him. Tatsumi, still weary from his encounter with a certain blonde simply replied:

"I-I don't have any money miss…"

"Well if you did, you wouldn't be out here, then would you?" the young girl giggles.

One of the men who had been commandeering the carriage had walked over at this point, and chimed in:

"Miss Aria can't leave a poor boy like you out here to his freeze." As he placed his hands on his hips.

"You had best accept her offer kid." The second man added.

Tatsumi rubbed his chin before replying : "Well… I suppose it is better than sleeping outside."

"Then its decided!" Aria said, helping Tatsumi to his feet. They made their way back to the carriage and continued down the road.

**(15 minutes later)**

Tatsumi could only glance around in awe as he admired the home, he was standing in. Honestly though, it was more of a mansion. He had guessed Aria's family was wealthy, but he couldn't conceal his amazement at the shear size of the home, as well as the various priceless antiquities scattered around.

"Oh, looks like Aria has brought home another guest." Aria's father said, turning to look at Tatsumi from where he was seated.

"Well it is our daughter's way." Aria's mother said with a warm smile. "How many does this make it now?"

It was then Tatsumi's attention were drawn to guards who were stationed around the room. _"Damn, they look really strong." _Tatsumi thought. _"That's must be why they can be some calm and take in perfect strangers…"_

"Thank you very much for taking me in!" Tatsumi shouted as bowed.

"Oh, it quite alright, please make yourself at home." Aria responded with a smile

"Thank you." He replied, with a small blush appearing on his face.

"Well what is your situation young man?" Aria's father asked Tatsumi as he gestured for him to sit down.

Tatsumi then began to explain how he had come to the capital to join the army to help his village.

"That is quite admirable young man… However, I should warn you. Inside the Capital's walls are peaceful but surrounding us on three sides are hostile tribes. More than likely, you'd be sent to the border to fight them." Aria's father explained resting his arms on his lap.

"I came prepared for anything." Tatsumi replied, clenching his fists.

"Ho-Ho, I must say your courage is contagious young man. That's youth for you." Aria's father said with a smile.

"Did you come to the Capital alone, Tatsumi?" Aria asked.

"There was originally supposed to be three of us travelling together, but one uh… couldn't make the journey…" Tatsumi trailed off, remembering Sayo. "But me and my friend Ieysau were travelling down together when we got separated. We trained together for years, and we had prepared plenty for all this."

"Oh my, that's awful." Aria's mother said, as she gasped slightly.

"He's pretty strong, so I'm not too worried." Tatsumi said, his hand gripping the talisman that hung around his neck. "But Ieyasu is pretty awful with directions, so I don't know if he'll be able to find where we all agreed to meet up."

"I see." Aria's father said, clasping his hands together. "I'll have a little chat with one of my military friends in the morning. Then we'll try our best to find your friend."

"Thank you so much!" Tatsumi exclaimed, standing up and bowing once again.

"My hunches are usually pretty spot on." Aria said with a warm and genuine smile, causing Tatsumi to turn and look at her. "I'm sure you'll find your friend soon."

"Miss Aria..." Tatsumi said with a slight blush coming across his face.

"Well everyone, why don't we call it a night." Aria's father said as he stood up.

"Um...is there anything I can help with while I'm here?" Tatsumi asked as he scratched the back of his head, causing Aria to clap her hands excitedly.

"Oh, I've got just the thing! You can be my bodyguard tomorrow around town with the others!" She announced happily.

"That sounds excellent." Aria's father said, turning to a nearby guard. "I'll leave this to you."

"Understood sir." The guard responded without moving a muscle.

"Thank you for everything you've done for me today!" Tatsumi exclaimed, earning a smile from Aria's mother.

"We're happy to help. Now you go get some rest." Aria's mother replied with a warm, but slightly creepy smile.

"I most certainly will!" Tatsumi said, as one of the guards had stepped forward to escort him towards his room. Once Tatsumi found his room, he quickly climbed into bed.

_"I'm pretty lucky… Looks like good people in the Capital DO exist. Next I need to find Ieyasu. I just hope he made it here okay..."_

**(The Next Afternoon, Capital's Shopping district)**

"Hurry! We have to go check out that shop too!" Aria cheered out, gesturing to a nearby clothing store.

"Miss Aria, please wait for us!" One of the guards yelled out in response to the young girl charging forward down the street as he was barely keeping whilst also juggling carious boxes and bags in his arms.

"Should've stayed home for this one…" another guard muttered out, feeling sympathetic to his comrade.

"She sure bought a lot…" Tatsumi remarked, as he eyes went wide staring at the mountain of boxes. "Its pretty ridiculous."

"And its not just Miss Aria kid..." the guard standing next to Tatsumi explained. "All young girls are like this."

"Really? The women I've known pick up what they need and move on." Tatsumi said with a confused tone.

"Eh, it's a lost cause kid. Don't mind that. Look up." The guard said as he gestured towards the enormous palace that towered over them. "That's the Royal Palace."

"Holy hell, its enormous!" Tatsumi blurted out as he began to take in the imposing building in the distance. "So that's where the emperor lives huh?"

"Well, yes, but actually no." the guard responded.

"What do you mean no?" Tatsumi asked with a confused expression spreading across his face.

"Well the Emperor does in fact live there, but he is but a child. The one that's really in control is Prime Minister Onest. He's been manipulating him ever since he took over the country… all the corruption and the chaos can be blamed on that foul man." The guard stopped himself, before looking around to make sure no one else was within ear shot before continuing. "But you'd best watch what you say around here, they'd have our heads for talking like this, or worse…"

"So that means…" Tatsumi growled out quietly through grit teeth as he glared at the ground beneath him. "The taxes being levied against my village causing them to suffer so dearly…"

"Are common knowledge here in the Capital…" the guard finished Tatsumi's sentence for him.

"And that's not all either." The guard gestured towards a nearby wall. "We've also gotta worry about those guys."

Tatsumi followed the guards point towards a set of wanted posters. One reading '_Najenda'_, the one in the middle reading _'Akame' _and the other reading _'Bulat'_, all wanted dead or alive. They all mentioned a group called _'Night Raid' _as well.

"Night Raid?" Tatsumi questioned as he saw the name repeated on the wanted posters, turning to face the guard next to him.

"They're a group of assassins that have been terrorizing the Capital." The guard explained. "They target high ranking government officials and wealthy families, all under the cover of darkness. So you had best be on your guard."

"Y-Yeah, no problem." Tatsumi said, trying to hide the fear in his voice.

"_Looks like these might be the 'monsters' those guys were talking about on my way here. I had better keep my guard up." _

"Also…" as the guard tapped on Tatsumi's shoulder. "You had best go help them with that." As he gestured towards a large box two other guards were struggling to carry.

Tatsumi sweatdrops, sighs, and then slowly walks over to the two other guards.

"_This girl…" _Tatsumi thought to himself

**(Several hours later, back at Aria's mansion)**

Night had overcome the Capital once again, with most of the residents fast asleep, except for one woman, Aria's mother. She was humming a happy tune to herself as walked down one of the mansions hallways.

"I suppose it's time to write today's journal entry." Aria's mother said, as she browsed through a small journal, holding it close to her chest. "I just can't quite seem to kick this hobby." She mused to herself. However, before she could utter another word, a sharp pain came across her midsection. "Huh?" she questioned as she saw that she had been cut clean in half. Blood sprayed across the hallway, staining everything it touched, including her unknown murder.

The assassin was revealed to be a rather well-endowed purple haired woman. She swiped her large scissor-like weapon in front of her, spreading the blood that once coated its blades across the floor. "I am terribly sorry." The purple-haired assassin said as she bowed at the two pieces of the corpse on the floor.

At this moment, Tatsumi instantly jumped to a sitting position in his head. A severe chill ran up the brunette's spine, as he struggled with the sheets to get out of bed. "What the… There's so much bloodlust in the air." Tatsumi muttered as he ran around the room gathering his clothes to put on. On the way out the door, he grabbed the weapon he had brought with him on his journey, the _**Charge Blade, Lightbreak**_. As he rushed through the hallways of the mansion, the words of the guard earlier that day echoed in his mind.

"_Could it be Night Raid? What kinda shit luck is this?" _Tatsumi thought, desperately hoping this wasn't the case. It was then Tatsumi glanced out a set of one of mansions windows, revealing several figures silhouettes standing on what appeared to be some sort of wire that were outlined against the rising moon.

"There's no question now, that has to be Night Raid!" Tatsumi said as he glared out the window at the assassin's clenching his fists. _"Are they targeting Aria's family because they're rich?" _Tatsumi thought as he saw 3 guards running outside to face the assassins. _"What should I do, help them, or try and guard the family?!"_

"Only three guards. They're our targets as well." A green-haired assassin said with a grin as he was perched on the wire. "They're all yours Akame."

"I will eliminate them all." Was all Akame said before jumping down on to the ground in front of the guards, her hands immediately reaching for the hilt of her sword. A large, armoured assassin had followed her lead towards the ground.

"No matter what, don't let that sword touch you!" the lead guard yelled before he led a charge against Akame.

"Eliminate." Akame muttered before she rushed forward in the blink of an eye. Before the lead guard could even attack, the red-eyed assassin had unsheathed her sword and slashed his throat, blood spraying on the ground in front of him. Before the next guard could even think about a counterattack, the large armoured assassin had launched a spear clean through his chest, coming out his backside.

"This…is what I deserve… for having a truly rotten soul…" the lead guard managed to spit out, before a poison in the form of jet-black markings across his body had made their way to his heart, stopping it instantly.

The third guard looked on in horror as his comrades' bodies lied lifeless before him. As the armoured assassin removed his spear from the second guard's chest, the third decided to flee, running full tilt in the opposite direction. "What's wrong with these guys, they're monsters!" he exclaimed as he turned around. Before he could get 3 steps in the opposite direction however, a gun shot rang out in the night, an instant later, a bullet whizzed through the back of the third guards head, creating a pink mist of blood before he collapsed to the ground.

"How pathetic." The petite pinkette assassin said, as she lowered the smoking barrel of the gun. "Running away when faced with an enemy." She glared at the third guard's corpse before the green haired man chimed in.

"I mean, who could really blame him?" he said as he shrugged his shoulders.

At the same time, in another part of the mansion, a strikingly familiar busty blonde assassin had Aria's father by the throat. She was slightly different this time round though, her hair was much longer, with cat like ears on top of her head to compliment. A tail, which twitched in aggravation also had sprouted from her lower back, with her hands being completed covered in fur and razor-sharp claws.

"P-Please… s-spare me… I have a daughter…" Aria's father managed to stammer out, as the blonde assassins fist tightened around his neck."

"Oh don't worry about her…" she replied. Aria's fathers expression seem to become hopeful for an instant. "You'll be joining her soon enough." The blonde finished with a cold, hard glare.

"E-Even my daughter…? Have you no mercy?" Aria's father pleaded.

"Mercy eh?" the blonde contemplated. "What's that?" she finished before snapping the older mans neck.

**(Moments later, Storage shed just outside the mansion)**

"This way Miss Aria! You must hurry!" a guard yelled, as towed Aria along behind him to a storage shed.

"W-What's happening?" Aria asked the guard with a frightened tone.

"You must get inside; you'll be safe there!" the guard yelled as he could see the shed come in to view.

"Miss Aria, I finally found you!" the guard with Aria in tow ground to halt and turned around to face the sound of the voice.

"Tatsumi!" Aria cried out, with a look of relief washing over her face.

"This is great!" the guard exclaimed as he pointed at Tatsumi. "I'll keep Miss Aria safe her in the shed while you fend off the enemy until the authorities arrive."

"That's a terrible fucking ide-!" Tatsumi managed to blurt out before he was cut off by the sound of someone landing behind him. Turning around quickly to face his attacked, Tatsumi's eyes widened when he saw that it was the dark-haired, red-eyed assassin from earlier. "Well… shit… I guess I've got no choice now!" he managed to yell out it with the little bit of confidence he had. Tatsumi unsheathed his _**Charge Blade, Lightbreak**_ holding the shield in his left arm firmly, with the single-edged blade in his right.

"_These are the monsters that lie in the Capital, I can't hesitate here. I have to treat them all the same…"_

Tatsumi was interrupted from his thoughts when the assassin spoke.

"Not a target." Akame's monotone voice rang out as she leapt in into the air at breathtaking speed. Before Tatsumi could react to the assassin's charge, she had used Tatsumi's back as springboard, launching herself towards the guard and Aria, who were still standing there behind him, stunned.

"Shit! She's coming this way!" the guard shrieked, unholstering his rifle. He began to open fire at his attacked, however, as time seem to slow down for the red-eyed assassin, as she easily danced through the hellfire of bullets. Akame, wow within feet of her opponent, parried the guard's rifle to her left, before rotating a full 360 degrees with a powerful roundhouse slash to the guards' neck, decapitating him.

Akame was making her way over to Aria now. "I will eliminate all targets." She muttered in the same emotionless tone.

"Wait!" Tatsumi yelled at the assassin looming over Aria, who was now cowering in fear on the ground.

Before she could move any further forward, Tatsumi leapt in front of her with a swing of his blade, standing between her and Aria.

"You aren't a target. There's no need to kill you." Akame told Tatsumi plainly.

"But you're going to kill this girl, aren't you?" Tatsumi retorted

"Yep." Akame replied simply.

"Yep?!" Tatsumi repeated to himself in a shocked tone. He then shifted his attention back in to Akame.

"If you get in the way, I'll have to bury you too." Akame stated plainly.

"_I'm fucked." _Tatsumi thought internally as he let out an audible gulp.

"That doesn't mean I'm just gonna run away!" Tatsumi yelled back at the dark-haired assassin, a sudden calmness and determination now filling his eyes and stance.

"I see. Then I will bury you as well." Akame returned the brunette's gaze with a cold stare of her own.

In the distance, the well-endowed blonde assassin was making her way towards Akame whilst also trying to get the blood off her hands, shaking them around furiously.

"_So dirty… Huh, that's weird. Its not like Akame to take so long…" _the blonde thought to herself with a confused expression. However, her expression turned from confused to astonished quickly as she saw who Akame was squaring up against. She face-palmed as she recognized the young man she had swindled money off a couple days earlier. "Man, how can one kid have SO much bad luck."

"_After her demonstration earlier, I don't think I can beat her… but if I can't save this little girl…" _Akame charged forward as Tatsumi held his ground, rotating the sword in his grip. Tatsumi parried Akame's horizontal slash with a thrust of his shield. _"Then how can I be expected to save my whole village!"_. Following up the slash from the red-eyed assassin, he performed a roundhouse blow with his sword, which connected with her katana. They locked swords for a moment, sparks flying between the pair. Akame leapt backwards in an instant, before jumping towards the brunette again, performing a downward chop at his head with a scary quickness. Tatsumi had had managed to react fast enough to block her sword once again with an upward slice, followed by an equally strong back-handed downwards chop which sent the dark-haired assassin flying backwards. His blade now glowing red just above the hilt, Tatsumi stuck his blade into the bottom part of the shield, causing it to glow a faint red colour.

"_He's not bad… quite strong actually. I must end this quickly; I don't like the look of that shield." _Akame thought to herself before questioning the appearance of her opponents' weapon.

"What kind of weapon is that? Is it a Teigu? I've never seen anything like it." The red-eyed assassin asked him.

With the same calm demeanor, Tatsumi replied to his assailant: "A weapon… not made for the likes of you!" he finished with a yell; completely ignoring the foreign word his opponent had uttered, charging at Akame.

"Tch." The assassin muttered, as another slash connected with her sword, forcing her backwards again.

Tatsumi's blade hilt began to glow a faint orange colour once again. As he reached back to charge the phials of his axe, Akame saw an opening. She charged forward with the swiftness of the wind, attempting to slash Tatsumi's midsection open wide. However, before she could close the distance, Tatsumi had begun to bring the axe form of his weapon down in front of him, now crackling with energy.

"_Shit." _Akame thought as she barely managed to stop short of the massive axe that landed in the ground in front of her. Side-stepping the attack, she attempted to seal the young man's fate. It was then she noticed out of the corner of her eye the ground to start to glow where the axe had struck, and then explode with elemental energy, sending her flying backwards. As the dust settled, Akame propped herself up with her katana, wincing at her newfound wounds and burns on her left side.

"I'll bury you!" she yelled once again at her opponent, as she charged forward, faster than before.

"_Oh fuck, now I've really pissed her off." _Tatsumi thought as he readied himself for another onslaught.

The busty blonde onlooker was watching with shock as the battle took place in front of her. _"This guy is keeping up with Akame? How…? And that weapon… is it a Teigu?"_

Akame left her left side open for an attack as she leapt above Tatsumi. The brunette, trying to take advantage of this, slashed horizontally at the assassin's midsection, however, as she anticipated this, she managed to avoid his blade, and rip the shield down he was carrying in his other hand, exposing his chest. Akame thrusted her blade forward, striking the emerald-eyed boys' chest hard, knocking the wind out of him.

"Gah-" Tatsumi gasped as he fell to the ground.

"Tatsumi!" Aria yelled, looking on helplessly.

"Heh." Tatsumi chuckled softly to himself, as he stood up once again. He smirked a little as noticed Akame keeping her distance from him. "Won't finish the job even with my guard down?"

"My blade didn't strike flesh." Akame said, as she watched the brunette reach into his shirt.

"Looks like Sayo is still protecting me, even from beyond the grave…" Tatsumi explained sadly as he revealed a necklace that was draped around his neck which had taken the brunt of the impact.

"_I can't believe he survived a strike from __**Murasame**_. _He's also managed to knock her back twice now. He sure can hold his own… maybe its time I repay this kid." _The blonde assassin thought as admired the battle in front of her.

"I'll bury you!" Akame reiterated as she launched herself at Tatsumi once again. As Tatsumi tried to parry her sword, he was met with a significant force which sent him flying backwards and onto his but. After realizing the impact came from a strong kick, he looked on in shock as Akame was already on top him.

"W-Wait a second!" Tatsumi shouted as he tried to wave his weapons defensively. He had lost nearly all of his strength from taking on all of the blows from the dark-haired assassin. "If its money you guys are after, there's no need to kill this innocent girl! He pleaded. However, his pleas were met with deaf ears as Akame readied her blade.

"_Fuck! Its no use! She's not listening to anything I say…" _Tatsumi thought as the blade inched closer to his neck.

"Hold on." Akame was stopped mid-strike by a hand that had her by the rear shirt collar. The voice from behind Akame was revealed to be an all too familiar busty blonde woman to Tatsumi.

"What are you doing Leone?" Akame asked her blonde comrade, looking back up at her.

"We still have time, right? I kinda owe this kid a favour. I figured I should probably repay it." The blonde explained while winking at Tatsumi with a mischievous smile.

"HEY! You're that big breasted-" Tatsumi yelled out when the realization hit him that it was the blonde that had ripped him off not two days earlier.

"Yeah, I'm that beautiful lady you met the other day~" Leone replied with a quirky smirk. She released Akame and then jumped over the group and made her way towards the storage shed. "Listen kid, you're getting all worked up about us hurting an innocent girl…" As Leone reached the doors of the shed, she kicked them open quickly. "… when this mansion was nothing but a nest of demons." She stepped aside, letting Tatsumi peer into the darkness. "Take a good look."

Tatsumi fought the urge to vomit at the sight and smell that lie before him. Several mutilated corpses lay scattered across the shed, some missing multiple limbs. Several women hung from chains on the ceiling, cuts and bruises covering their naked bodies.

"This is the dark side of the imperial Capital." Leone finished.

"W-What the fuck is this?" Tatsumi said as looked at the decaying bodies before him with a deadpanned expression.

"These people would lure people from the country like yourself with sweet promises… and then torture them in every way imaginable until they finally succumb to their death." Leone explained as crossed her arms under her large bosom.

Aria tried to creep away into woods before being grabbed by Leone. "And where do you think you're going Missy? We aren't finished with you yet."

"The family here did this?" Tatsumi asked with zero emotion.

"Yes. And their guards kept silent about it, so they're equally as guilty." Leone said, as she gripped onto Aria to keep her from escaping.

"S-She's obviously lying!" Aria pleaded, struggling against the grip on her head. "I never knew the place existed! You must believe me Tatsumi! Are you going to believe the ones that took you in when you were in need, or them?"

"H-Hey… T-Tatsumi…" a whisper called from one of the large cages to Tatsumi's left. "I-It really… is you... isn't it?" Tatsumi managed to divert his gaze from the horrors in front of him, only to return the gaze of a familiar face.

"I-Ieyasu?!" Tatsumi exclaimed.

"That bitch approached me in the street… and led me back here. I passed out after I ate a meal they fed me. I woke up in this cage" Ieyasu explained. He turned to glare at Aria. "She'd torture those girls for hours on end… I-I can still hear their screams…" As Ieyasu gestured towards the woman hanging from the ceiling.

"And what exactly is wrong with that!" Aria yelled as she slapped Leone's hand away. "They were all just useless country bums anyways! I can treat them however I want!" Aria had donned a demonic expression as she ranted some more: "And for fucking cattle from the country, to have such silky hair, when I have to deal with my own unruly hair! They should be fucking grateful that I gave them so much attention!"

"Just demons in human form." Leone said, with a low growl coming across her twisted expression as she glared at Aria. "Sorry for getting in your way, Akame."

"Eliminate." Replied the red-eyed assassin simply as she unsheathed her katana once again.

"Wait." Tatsumi ushered as his bangs covered his eyes

"Please don't tell me you're still trying to defend her?" Leone questioned.

"No…" Tatsumi replied as he unsheathed his blade from the shield on his back. With a quick and deadly slash, Tatsumi had slashed Aria with a diagonal strike across her chest, causing blood to spray out from the wound. "I'll slay this monster myself." Moments later, an ooze appeared in the wound which glowed green at first, turning to a bright red before detonating with a loud explosion. When the dust settled, nothing was left of Aria except a red pulp on the ground.

"_I know she was a despicable excuse for a human being… but he killed her without hesitation." _Leone mused to herself as she rubbed her chin in thought.

"Ha, ha… that's the Tatsumi I know…" Ieyasu said with the best smile he could muster. "That felt great!" Ieyasu's celebration was cut short however when he started to cough up blood.

"Ieyasu!" Tatsumi shouted as he rushed through the cage's door, cradling Ieyasu in his arms.

"He's in the final stages of Rubeola's disease." Akame explained as she approached the pair on the floor. "The mother of the house enjoyed injecting her victims with drugs and documenting the effects in her journal. I'm really sorry Tatsumi… but there's nothing we can do for him now."

"Ta-Tatsumi…" Ieyasu managed to choke out. "I never showed my weakness to those fuckers… you should've seen me heh… would've made Sayo proud…" a large smile appeared on Ieyasu's face as held up his clenched his fist. "T-Take care T-Tatsumi…" he finished before his fist lost his strength and his arm crumpled to the ground.

"It was his drive and willpower keeping him alive this whole time." Akame noted as she gazed at Tatsumi with a worried look.

"Wh-What the fuck is wrong with this place… I've never seen monsters like this…" Tatsumi asked, not really expecting an answer as he cradled Ieyasu.

"Time to go Leone." Akame said as she turned to leave.

"Hey, hold up. Why don't we take him with us?" Leone asked her comrade as she went to grab Tatsumi. "Base is always short-staffed, and you've gotta admit, he's got some serious skills, being able to knock you back twice."

"I can agree with you that he's a skilled fighter." Akame responded, looking back at how he was struggling in Leone's clutches.

"Let me go, I have to bury him!" Tatsumi yelled as he was still struggling to get free. "LET ME GO!" he roared out as he bit down on Leone's hand.

"Fucker! That kid bit me!" Leone shouted out, releasing Tatsumi. _"Does he know what he just did…? He marked me."_ She thought as she watched Tatsumi rush back over to his dead friend.

"We should just leave him." Akame said beginning to turn around to leave once again.

"Please… please… I'll come with you. Just let me take his body with us so I can give him a proper burial. He deserves that…" Tatsumi pleaded quietly with a desperate look in his eye.

"_Damn… this has gotta be a lot at once for him…" _Leone thought, feeling the sorrow in the brunette's voice and expression. She walked back over to him and placed one hand on his shoulder. "I promise you I'll come back for his body as soon as we can. But for now, we need to get out of here, okay?" Leone said gently, with a warm smile that managed to ease Tatsumi's heart just a little.

"O-Okay… thank you." Tatsumi replied, grabbing on Leone's hand and getting to his feet.

**(Minutes later)**

"You're late!" The pinkette scolded the trio as they approached the rest of the group. "And, who is that?" the pinkette quirked an eyebrow at the sight of an unfamiliar face.

"There's too much to explain, and too little time right now. But long story short, he's our new comrade!" Leone explained excitedly. The pinkette's eyes widened at hearing the blonde's explanation. "Bulat, you'll have to carry Tatsumi so he can keep up with us."

"Don't worry, you'll be all better soon." The armoured assassin said as he picked up Tatsumi.

"Operation complete. Let's return to base." Akame declared to the group as she began to rush across the rooftops, disappearing quickly into the shadows.

"_What a turn of events… I wonder what'll become of me." _Tatsumi thought as he felt the coolness of the night overtake him.

And with that, Chapter 1 is complete! I really hope you enjoyed. Feedback and reviews are always welcomed and appreciated!

So, until next time, _o7_

_-Cipher_


	4. Chapter 2 - Kill the Initiation

_**Thank you all for choosing to stop by! Some reviews and CC are always welcome, as this is my first attempt at a FF. Welcome back everyone! Thanks for stopping by. We pick up where the first Chapter left off, Tatsumi being taken in by Night Raid. Some more backstory and a continuation of the main plot ensues! Anyways, more than anything, I really do hope you enjoy. o7 **_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga Kill, Monster hunter, or either of their respective characters.**

"Speech"

"_Thoughts"_

**Locations, flashbacks**

_**Weapons, Teigu**_

**(3 days later; Night Raid's hidden base)**

Tatsumi had spent most of the last 3 days in a campsite he had fashioned himself, with only really himself and his thoughts to accompany him. The only other companionship he had was lying six feet under at the cliff side in front him.

As promised, Leone had gone to retrieve Ieyasu's body the day after she had brought him here. Where exactly 'here' was, he wasn't sure. The only thing he could tell is that it seemed like they were north of where they were in the Capital, in a dense patch of forest that covered the surrounding hills. Leone had told him she'd give him some time to mourn here, and some time before her 'boss' was returning, whoever the hell that was. He had a lot of questions about his new situation, but for now. He had to come to terms with his friends.

"_First Sayo… now Ieyasu… it really is just me left now… there's so many more things I wanted to experience with you guys, together. We had thought we saved our village once… at a great cost. Now it seems like our best and only real hope has started off with someone else impossibly close to me dying… I-I can't fucking take it anymore! Why can't I keep the people I care for the most, safe? Is this some sort of sick joke?" _Tatsumi's thoughts were racing as he was finally coming to terms with his emotions.

"GOD! DAMMIT!" Tatsumi yelled out over the cliffside, pounding his clenched his fit in to the ground in front of Ieyasu's grave.

It was several moments before Tatsumi managed to look up once again, taking in the sunrise that was forming on the horizon.

"_I feel like it's only right… there is one thing I can do for them now… live on with the same determination we all shared… the burden is squarely upon my shoulders now… but it is a burden I MUST carry… for their sakes, and for everyone back home's as well…"_

The sun had managed to illuminate and glint off the shovel on the ground next to Tatsumi, which gave him a thought.

"_You both can rest easy now though… I'll take care of this." _

Tatsumi reached out to the shovel next to him and began to dig a hole adjacent to Ieyasu's grave. Once he was finished with a deep, cylindrical hole, he pulled out an all too familiar pouch from his pack he had been carrying with him.

"_Sayo… I know we haven't exactly made it to the promised land here yet… and I know I promised to spread your memory amongst the place where we would call home here… no, where we would save our village. But you might have to forgive me, just this once. I feel like te place you two will feel most at home will be together."_

Tatsumi then placed the pouch with a small amount of Sayo's ashes in the hole and then covered it up. He managed to stand up, rubbing the tears from his eyes.

"I'll make you both proud…" Tatsumi whispered into the wind.

"_Someone's here." _Tatsumi noted as he sensed a foreign presence. He unsheathed his _**Charge Blade, Lightbreak **_quickly, taking a defensive stance as he whipped around to face the presence.

"Woah there country boy, take it easy." A familiar blonde sounded off in the treeline in front of Tatsumi.

Tatsumi let out a small sigh of relief, and the sheathed his weapon once again. He turned around once again to face he's recently buried comrades. Leone had approached Tatsumi further, embracing him from the rear tightly.

"I only brought back your one friend, so who's the second one for?" Leone asked plainly, but with a certain amount of kindness that managed to ease the young man's heart.

"Sayo…" Tatsumi murmured out, trying to supress some of the emotions he had wiped away earlier.

"Another one of your friends?"

"Yeah… she passed away a little while ago, back when I was on the Western Continent. She died protecting an entire city from a dangerous monster. I had been carrying just a small part of her with me on our journey to… I-I was gonna spread her ashes once Ieyasu and I had made it big in the Capital… and well, with that out of the question now… I feel like this is the place they'll both feel most at home." Tatsumi explained, with a lone tear now escaping down his cheek.

"Oh…" Leone replied solemnly. "I'm sorry you had to go through all this right now Tatsumi…" she turned the brunette around to face her, embracing him in a tight hug once again, pushing his face down hard on to her soft bosom. "… and I know you're trying to come to terms with this all right now, but my boss is back now. It is time you're formally introduced to everyone, and you'll need to decide if you are going to join us." The blonde had tried to sound as comforting as possible, but also voiced the latter half of her statement with earnest.

"I-I know, you're right… thanks Leone." Tatsumi replied softly to the blonde who was consoling him.

"Didn't I tell you to call me Big Sis?" she asked, with a smirk coming across her face as she looked down at emerald-eyed boy who was currently being smothered.

Tatsumi, becoming all too aware of his position on the blonde blushed furiously before distancing himself from her, recomposing himself.

"Y-You're right… Big Sis." Tatsumi stammered out, avoiding Leone's gaze for the moment.

"That's much better." She teased. "Let's get going." She gestured for Tatsumi to come up next to her, to which he obliged after gathering up his things. The pair walked together into the treeline, with Leone's right arm hung around Tatsumi's shoulders.

**(30 minutes later, Night Raid's meeting room)**

"Oh, you haven't decided if you want to join yet?" A well-endowed purple-haired girl said, as she closed the book she was reading before setting it down on the table.

"Well, I'm not so certain just yet, no..." Tatsumi replied, scratching the back of his head.

"Sheele, why don't you give him some warm words of encouragement?" Leone said with a huge grin, as a she patted Tatsumi on the back.

"Since you know where our secret hideout is now, if you don't join, you'll just be killed." The purple-haired assassin replied plainly.

"11 out of 10 pep talk, thanks." Tatsumi replied with a deadpan. Interrupting his thoughts on the purple-haired woman was the book she picked up once again that was titled _'100 ways to fix Airheadedness'_.

"_Outstanding, another weirdo." _Tatsumi thought, releasing a soft sigh. Before he could recover fully from what he just heard, a piercing yell interrupted his thoughts.

"HEY!"

Tatsumi could only look on with a little worry as a familiar pinkette made her way into the room, confronting Leone.

"Hold up Leone!" the pinkette yelled at her blonde comrade. "Why are showing this guy inside our secret hideout? You're not seriously considering letting him join, are you?"

"Well of course." Leone shrugged. "Anyone with fighting skills with a weapon that can rival Akame's is a welcome friend of mine."

"_Should probably avoid mentioning the mark for now… regardless of how its influencing me right now, his fighting skills are undeniable." _Leone thought cautiously, feeling up the bite mark on her hand.

"You haven't gotten the Boss' permission yet either!" she turned to look at Tatsumi with a glare, only to falter, as an equally blank, but determined stare returned her gaze. "W-Well you should just forget about this guy, skills my ass… He's not cut out for it; I can tell just by looking at him."

After she managed to stammer out her response, a small tickmark appeared on Tatsumi's forehead. But before he could respond to the pinkette's criticisms, Leone interrupted.

"Honestly, not even worth your time, Mine's like that with everyone… lets move on. I'll introduce you to Bulat next."

"Alright then…" Tatsumi replied, pinching the bridge of his nose before he was led further into the hideout by the blonde. Before long, the duo had reached a sort of training grounds.

"This here is mostly for stress-relief and training…" Leone explained. She then gestured to a massive, shirtless, _unit _of a man who was vigorously training with a wooden spear. "And the guy over there who clearly reeks of sweat, is Bulat."

"_Holy shit, I can see how precise AND strong his strikes are… that's amazing."_ Tatsumi admired Bulat's devastating but exact movements as he wielded the training spear. He seemed to notice the newcomers as he dropped his spear on the ground and picked up a towel and hung it around his neck.

"Ah, Leone! Great to see you!" Bulat cheered out, waving and making his way over towards the pair. She waved in response. "And… ah yes you're the boy from the mission the other day. Good to see you up and about!

"I-I don't believe we've met…" Tatsumi responded, sounding confused.

"Hmm, ah yes that's right, this is the first time you've seen me like this. I was the one clad in armor the other day, I carried you back here." Bulat explained with a smile, extending out his hand towards Tatsumi. "The name's Bulat, it's good to meet you."

"H... Hi." Tatsumi managed to stammer out, returning the gesture. He tried to return as firm of a handshake as he could, but he was still astonished by the iron grip that returned the handshake.

"Ho-Ho, that's a strong grip you got there boy!" Bulat yelled out.

"Be careful around him, he's gay." Leone whispered in Tatsumi's ear, but also loud enough for Bulat to hear, causing Tatsumi to immediately retract his hand and rub it carefully.

"C'mon now…" Bulat said, with a small blush forming on his cheeks. "He'd misunderstand, wouldn't he?"

"_He didn't even deny it!" _Tatsumi was now screaming internally at the situation he now found himself in, slowly backing away from the large, muscular man.

"C-Can we move on please?" Tatsumi pleaded with Leone.

"I'll introduce you to Lubbock next." Leone replied, as she slowly squinted her eyes. "Now I wonder where he'd be this time of day…" She managed to sigh a little realizing what time it was. "Yeah I know where that pervert is, follow me."

**(10 minutes later, river just to the South of Night Raid's hidden base)**

"Hehe, its almost time for Leone's bath." Lubbock squeaked out with a perverted smirk. He was crouching in the bushes near the busty blondes usual bathing spot. "The danger of it all is totally worth it if I get a shot seeing those tits!"

"Have you forgotten what happened last time you pulled this stunt? I think I might just have to break your arm this time." Leone said with an annoyed tone as she had her heel firmly planted in the small of the green-haired assassins back, pulling his left arm back and upwards.

"GAHHH!" Lubbock yelled out in pain, with his arm becoming dangerously close to being dislocated.

"You never learn do you Lubbock?" Leone chastised the green-haired pervert who was still squirming under her foot.

"Fuck! I can still go on!" Lubbock howled out, as he continued the pointless struggle at the mercy of the blonde assassin.

"Then maybe crushing a few fingers will finally set you straight." Leone said with a sinister tone, before clearing up her expression with a generous smile as she turned to Tatsumi. "And this idiot… is Lubbock." Before Tatsumi could even respond to discovering yet another weirdo, Leone had grabbed Lubbock by his coat and launched him into the river **(A/N **_**YEETED him***_**). **

"Well you're at least more familiar the next member, you did _explode _all over her a few days ago." Leone teased Tatsumi as they had made their way down the riverbed.

"I'm not sure what you're insinuating…" Tatsumi responded, with a clear look of his confusion. This caused Leone to chuckle heartily at the young man.

"_Please, just let someone be normal…" _Tatsumi sighed as he could slowly make out a familiar figure in the distance. However, Tatsumi's hopeful expression quickly turned to one of disbelief once again at the sight of the familiar dark-haired assassin. Tatsumi looked on with widened eyes as he admired a large bird roasting on a spit over the campfire in front of the assassin.

"Did she kill that herself?" Tatsumi wondered out loud.

"Akame may look all cute, but she grew up in the wild." Leone explained, as the red-eyed assassin turned to face the pair.

"_That's impressive, considering her size… to take down a monster like that. Of course, her fighting skills were ruthless the other day as well, so I shouldn't be too surprised." _Tatsumi thought.

"You should eat some too, Leone." Akame said, as she tossed Leone a piece of the bird meat.

"Mmmm thanks Akame!" Leone cheered out as she took a large bite out of the hunk of meat. ''

"So, have you decided to join us yet?" Akame asked Tastumi as she continued to chew on the piece of bird with a blank expression.

"Well, I've had bit of time to think about what's happened, but I am seriously considering it." Tatsumi replied with a cool resolve that was reflected in his eyes.

"Hmm-"

"But first…" Tatsumi had cut off Akame before she could continue as he walked up to her and was examining her left side closely. "I need to tend to this." Tatsumi was beginning to unravel some of the wrappings on her left arm, no doubt concealing some of the wounds she had suffered at the hands of Tatsumi's _**Charge Blade **_not 3 days prior.

"Don't worry about it, with a little slee-" Akame tried to grab Tatsumi's hands and push them away, but he simply grabbed both of her hands and looked at her dead in the eye, causing the dark-haired assassin to blush.

"Sleep doesn't fix the AT LEAST second degree burns that explosion gave you the other day, not to mention all the cuts and scrapes you would've gotten from the dust that got kicked up."

"I'm telling you, its fi-"

"Just shut up and let me help you." Tatsumi said firmly, before reaching into his pack and retrieving a jar with a mysterious green liquid, and more bandages.

"Here, take this…" Tatsumi said as he handed Akame the jar. Before beginning to replace the bandages on her left side.

"What is this?" She asked.

"It's a little hard to explain right now, but it'll help you heal dramatically and increase your vitality for a short while." Tatsumi explained.

"O-Okay." Akame replied, sounding skeptical. But nevertheless, she downed the liquid with a massive gulp. Right before the dark-haired assassin eye's, some of the cuts and most of all, the burn marks, seem to slowly fade away, leaving behind very few marks at all.

"There we are." Tatsumi stood up from the hunched over position he was in before and admired his handywork. "All better." Tatsumi showed a very kind and gentle smile before packing up some of his left-over bandages.

"The dull pain on my left side and most of the cuts are gone… how?" Akame said, with a shocked tone.

"I can explain that all a little more later, but for now, I'm just glad you're feeling better." Tatsumi replied calmly. "It's the least I can do, especially after how I roughed you up that night… so sorry about that." Tatsumi said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"You fought a fierce battle; you clearly have a lot of experience. Thank you for helping me heal Tatsumi." Akame said with a small smile forming on her lips. She then reached out to the cooking bird and pulled off a chunk of it, handing it to Tatsumi. "Here, have some."

"T-Thanks." Tatsumi replied with a small blush forming on his cheeks, before sinking his teeth in to the generous portion of meat in his hand.

"_This is really good! I'll have to show her some of the cooking techniques I've picked up as well!" _Tatsumi thought as he savoured his new meal.

"_Seems Akame likes him a little more than she's been letting on… I may have some competition to deal with…" _The blonde looked on at the interaction between the pair with a smirk.

"Anyways Akame…" Leone interrupted the gaze the pair in front of her were sharing. "You seem pretty fired up."

"Umm… yes well the boss is back." Akame replied in her usual monotone voice, gesturing towards a figure sitting on the opposite side of the fire.

"Yo." The silver-haired woman called out with a small wave. She also sported an eye-patch and a mechanical arm.

"Welcome back, boss! Find anything cool for me~?" Leone asked cheerfully as she walked up to the boss.

"Leone, we'll have to talk about that later…" The boss said in a sinister tone, flexing the metal fingers on her right hand, causing them to creak loudly. "Apparently, on the job two days ago… you went over the operations time limit?"

"_Not good!" _the blonde thought as she tried to sprint down the riverbank. However, before she could make it too far, the right hand on the boss' arm shot on grabbed Leone by her pants. An awful sound rivalling the one heard from the creaking of the metal fingers screeched out as the boss began to real the busty blonde in. _"Fuck me, just make that sound stop!" _

"Getting into the habit of dragging out a fight with a tough opponent because you're enjoying the fight so much is poor judgement… you'll have to work on that Leone." The boss said as Leone was squirming all over the ground.

"Alright! Alright! I get it, now please just stop making that noise!" Leone cried out, as she covered her ultra-sensitive ears.

"Also, who is this young man?" The boss asked Leone, gesturing towards Tatsumi while also releasing the blonde.

"Ah! I was wondering when you were gonna ask." Leone replied with eagerness, running over to Tatsumi. She wrapped her arm around his neck with a smile before continuing: "This is Tatsumi, and I recommend he join us."

"Does he show the required the skills to be one of us?" the boss asked, looking intently at Tatsumi.

"He does. He also went toe-to-toe with Akame in a fight with that weapon of his." Leone replied confidently and sincerely.

"Oh, well that is certainly sounds promising. I'll have to see for myself the skills of a man who could take on Akame, as well as that weapon of his." The boss replied. "Akame, have everyone gather in the meeting room in 10 minutes. I wish to discuss the results of the last mission further, as well as the details concerning Tatsumi."

**(10 minutes later, Night Raid's meeting room)**

"I see…" The boss said, rubbing her chin. "I understand everything now. But first things first, Tatsumi, show me that weapon of yours."

"S-Sure." Tatsumi said nervously, unsheathing his _**Charge Blade Lightbreak **_from his back. All eyes were on him as he held the massive shield in his left hand, with the blade held firmly in his right. Its ebony-blue main colour reflected little of the light that enveloped it. However, the core of the shield glowed a faint orange-yellow colour, a hue that was replicated on the blade portion of the weapon as well. The gaggle of assassins besides Akame and Leone looked on in awe at the sight of the weapon. It was an impressive sight after all, the shield stretched nearly from head-to-toe on Tatsumi, with the blade being a good 4 feet long not including the handguard.

"Hmmm." The boss was clearly analyzing the look of the weapon. "Do we know if it's a Teigu?"

"No idea." Leone muttered.

"I don't really know what this _'Teigu' _thing is or whatever, but I made this with my own two hands." Tatsumi spoke up.

"So that rules that out… Hmm." The boss continued to look intently at the _**Charge Blade**_. "But it went to toe-to-toe with Akame, injuring her greatly to the point where she nearly lost."

"Yup." Akame said in her typical monotone voice.

"Well Tatsumi, since you're the only one without a stunned look on their face, and you told me you made this thing, what's the story?" The boss asked, eager for an explanation of the foreign weapon.

"Well… where do I start. This weapon is called a _**Charge Blade**_. It's a sword and shield weapon plus an axe weapon. The phials just above where I'm holding here-" he gestured towards a bit of clear looking module just above the hilt "-get charged up upon a successful strike. One it glows red; you store them in the shield." Tatsumi demonstrated the motion of inserting the blade into the base of the shield. "You can then unleash this built up energy in the axe mode of the weapon. There's also a way of charging the shield, which makes certain attacks in the axe mode even more powerful, as well as causing the shield to let off energy when it is struck." Tatsumi then re-sheathed the sword into the shield and converted the weapon into the axe mode. "This is the axe mode, where you can unleash the real potential of this weapon. This is how I was able to damage Akame the other day." Tatsumi looked at the red-eyed assassin with a bit of worry. She returned his gaze with a smile, making him feel a little better about how bad he had roughed her up. "And that's pretty much it."

Everyone in the room had their confused expressions grow even more by the end of Tatsumi's explanation. Seeing this, Tatsumi sheathed the weapon once again and then rubbed the back of his head.

"I wouldn't expect you all to know what I mean right away, after all, it did take years of training for me to fully master this weapon. It is considered the most _technical _of all of our weapons." Tatsumi explained.

"What do you mean all of _our _weapons?" The boss continued to question Tatsumi.

"Well, in total, I've learned to use all 13 of the hunting weapons, including a couple of ranged weapons." Tatsumi explained once again.

"So, you're telling me you've mastered the use of 13 _different _weapons?" Leone asked, with an intrigued tone.

"Well, yeah, we had to learn everything to see which best suited or fighting style, and which ones we were most comfortable with." Tatsumi told the blonde.

"W-Wow…" Leone muttered, feeling the bite mark on her hand tingle slightly. _"Oh, he is definitely gonna be mine now, there's no question."_

"So, _who _exactly were you fighting?" Akame asked the brunette.

"So, the poverty in my village isn't exactly a new idea. So, back when I was 14, my village sent myself, Sayo and Ieyasu to the Western Continent to be able to learn some valuable life skills that we simply wouldn't have had the chance to learn if we had stayed here. Plus, monster hunting was lucrative, so the idea was we'd be able to amass enough money to return one day to our village and save it. However," Tatsumi paused for a moment, with a wave of sadness creeping across his face. "Just before we had planned on returning home… an urgent quest had come up for us to take on. On that quest… Sayo… didn't make it. We managed to repel the monster away and saved the village but… at a great cost." Tatsumi finished, as he held back tears.

Everyone's expression in the room quickly turned to one of worry of for the young man's mental well being.

"I'm really sorry Tatsumi…" Akame said, as she walked up to the brunette, placing her one hand on his shoulder. _"He's been through so much for someone his age, he's rather similar to me actually…"_

"I'll be alright, thanks Akame." Tatsumi said, putting on a big smile that seemed to lift everyone's spirits once again.

"So, you grew up and trained to be a monster hunter for how many-" The boss asked.

"6 years." Tatsumi replied firmly.

"Well, I've got no idea what It's like on the Western Continent, but for you to have trained and fought for 6 years slaying formidable monsters, that would certainly explain your fighting prowess." The boss stated plainly as she gave a small smile to brunette. "I'll keep it simple for you Tatsumi, do you want to join Night Raid?" Seeing the slight hesitation in the brunette's eyes, she explained further: "You won't be killed if you decline. However, we'll make you work in our workshop. And if you really did forge that weapon yourself, I'm sure those skills will come in handy there."

"I… had originally planned on coming to the Capital with Ieyasu and making it big to save our village, our home. This is a promise the three of us made to each other long ago, a promise to do whatever it takes." Tatsumi replied, clenching his fist, before relaxing once again. "I once fought in an entirely different world to bring back the balance that had been lost to calamities of all sorts… and it seems the Empire is in need of a re-balancing as well; the corruption here stretches far and wide." Tatsumi had managed to look directly at the boss at this point, determination filling his eyes. "This time its different for me however…"

"Oh?" the boss asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Fighting and killing monsters is one thing, but what you all do here is… _murder_. And any of you could die at any moment to atone for that fact." Tatsumi stated plainly, causing all eyes in the room to turn to him with an emotionless look. "However, you're doing what needs to be done to return this place to a state of equilibrium once again, killing the filth that rots this country… assassins for a good cause let's say." This earned the laughs of everyone in the room.

"You seem to understand the situation here perfectly Tatsumi, I'm impressed." The boss remarked looking at brunette intently once again. "So, Tatsumi, we'll need an answer."

"I accept. I will join Night Raid!" Tatsumi cheered out, holding is clenched fist up in the air.

"That's the stuff Tatsumi!" Bulat exclaimed with a contagious smile. "The countryside lies in ruins because of its rotten roots here in the Capital. Now you'll be able to restore the balance, as a man!"

"Night Raid is a perfect fit for you Tatsumi." The boss said, causing Tatsumi to look at her with a questioning gaze. "Far to the south of the Capital, lies the Revolutionary Army."

"The Revolutionary Army?" Tatsumi repeated, his eyes widened with interest.

"They started out small but have been able to amass a large following." The boss explained, pointing to a large map on the wall behind her. "However, they needed a unit that specialized in covert operations, which spawned us, Night Raid, to carry out those missions." The boss gestured to several of the banners around the room. "Right now, we're eliminating the scum that fester in the Capital, but once the full Army decides to attack, we'll use that confusion to kill the source of the evil here, the Prime Minister." The boss clenched her metallic fist with determination. "He's the main target. Of course, there are others, but we'll save those for another day. I don't have specifics on when the Revolutionary Army will strike, but I guarantee you we have a plan for when that day comes. This country will definitely change."

"This new country, will it treat people right?" Tatsumi asked the silver haired woman, locking eyes with her.

"You're damn right It will." The boss replied firmly.

"_A country where my village won't lie in ruin because of how poor it is… one where simply existing won't be the only thing you can do…. that's something worth fighting tooth and nail for." _Tatsumi thought, looking down at the floor.

"I understand…" Tatsumi said, looking back up at the room full of assassins. "I'm sure you all have your own reasons for walking this path… but I know Sayo and Ieyasu would've fought for this cause. I want to fight to rid this country of the monsters that lie within in it, whatever it takes." Tatsumi then turned towards the boss once again. "I will be paid though right?"

"Of course." The boss replied with a small smirk. "You work hard and diligently here Tatsumi, you'll be able to save your home." The boss leaned back in her seat, resting her mechanical arm on the armrest. _"This kid has got the look of a true warrior… he's clearly seen some shit in his day, but he seems unfazed, and even more determined than he looked earlier."_

"Well then, like I said, you can count me in." Tatsumi said firmly with a nod.

"You know you might never be able tor return to your village, or your parents ever again right?" Mine pointed out to Tatsumi.

"I can live with that." Tatsumi replied plainly, not even returning the pinkette's gaze. "As long as they are well taken care of and are safe, I'm perfectly okay with that."

"Hmph…" Mine huffed, crossing her arms under her small bust.

"Then its decided." The boss said, standing up and extending her hand towards Tatsumi. "Welcome to the path of carnage, Tatsumi."

Tatsumi gave the silver-haired woman's hand a firm shake, before they were all interrupted by a large grinding sound coming from Lubbock.

"Najenda-san, we've got intruders!" Lubbock informed everyone.

"How many are there?" Najenda asked with a small sigh, before she pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

"Seems there is at least 8 according to my wires!" the green-haired assassin replied. "They're getting really close to the hideout!"

"Hmph… they must be decent if they managed to figure out where our secret base is." Najenda said. "They must be a mercenary group from one of the surrounding tribes." She let out another sigh, before puffing on her cigarette. "There's no other option, this is an emergency sortie. Kill them all, don't let any of them escape."

"_Fuck me, the atmosphere just got filled with an enormous amount of bloodlust… that was quick."_ Tatsumi thought, as he glanced around at the blank expressions of his new comrades.

"GO!" Najenda ordered out, sounding like a military general, signalling the members of Night Raid to commence the operation.

"Right!" Tatsumi yelled out, retrieving a certain bow and quiver from his pack before charging out of the hideout, following in his teammate's footsteps.

"Show me what you can do kid!" Najenda called out to Tatsumi's back as he ran down the hall.

"_This is my chance to prove to everyone that I got what it takes, I gotta come up big here." _Tatsumi thought as hooked the bow and quiver, _**Voltsender**_, across his left shoulder while also having _**Lightbreak **_sheathed on his back.

_**And with that, Chapter 2 comes to a close. Hopefully some more of the backstory/motivations have become clearer for everyone. Next chapter will feature the battle with mercenaries as well as part of Tatsumi's training. I wanted to separate this introduction from his first battle just so I didn't make this Chapter too long, because I really wanted to explain some more of the backstory in detail. Since I plan on including lots of fighting details, I feel like starting off fresh with that next chapter will be a great start! Now to answer some questions:**_

_**The pairings for this story will be Tatsumi x Harem, who they all are, I haven't firmly decided yet. When I do, you'll be the first to know (although Leone is rather obvious if you've been paying attention, and Akame's interest has certainly been piqued)**_

_**To answer Pyromania101 – yes Monster Hunter monsters will be featured throughout the story. Both flashbacks to hunts with his childhood friends, and ones in the Empire. The Charge Blade won't be the only weapon he uses either hehe. Esdeath's storyline I won't reveal too much for now, but she may have met Tatsumi before the events in the Empire.**_

_**I'll digress for now, So, until next time, o7**_

_**-Cipher**_


End file.
